Wind Farm In North Dakota Signed Off On

The North Dakota Public Service Commission has granted its approval for Canadian energy company, Sequoia Energy, to go forward with construction of the Border Winds project. Border Winds 1 is planned to be a 150-megawatt wind farm located near Rolla, North Dakota-about 10 miles from the North Dakota-Manitoba border.

The Border Winds 1 site is expected to cover about 52 square miles of land and include up to 66 wind turbines. The site is located roughly 80 miles south-west of the St. Leon wind farm in Manitoba, also developed by Sequoia.

image via Iberdrola Renewables

Sequoia says that while a down turn in the economy has slowed renewable energy development across the US, its commitment to the project will go forward, undeterred. In a statement, Sequoia President and CEO Ron Diduch indicated that the project has been in the works for over five years and added, “We’ve invested a lot of time and energy in this project to date and we intend to continue with all efforts required to ensure that the project is successful.”

According to data from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), the addition of Border Winds project to North Dakota’s existing 1,424 megawatt wind energy portfolio will boost its total wind energy capacity by about 10 percent. Currently North Dakota ranks number 9 for most installed wind energy capacity in the US.